• Existing home sales beat expectations in May, rising 1.1 percent from April to 5.62 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR).
• The number of homes on the market in May increased 0.4 percent from April to 1.84 million units (SAAR), the largest gain in for-sale inventory in six months, driven by a 0.5 percent gain in the number of single-family homes on the market.
• The median price of existing homes sold in May fell 0.8 percent from April to $242,800, retreating from the all-time high reported in April, but still up 5.8 percent from a year ago.

Existing home sales beat expectations, rising 1.1 percent from April to 5.62 million units at a seasonally adjusted annual rate (SAAR) according to the National Association of Realtors (NAR). April existing home sales were revised downward by 10,000 units to 5.56 million units SAAR. Compared to last May, existing home sales are up 2.7 percent, or about 15,000 units.

Regionally, the pickup in existing home sales was strongest in the Midwest (up 5.85 percent from April) and the West (up 3.4 percent from April). In the West, the May sales increase broke a string of three consecutive month-over-month declines in existing home sales. Still, month-over-month sales in the West have declined in five of the past seven months and have, on average, been flat since mid-2015.

For-sale inventory – the number of homes on the market – increased 0.4 percent in May to 1.84 million units (SAAR) and is down almost 9 percent over the year. In percentage terms, it was the biggest increase in for-sale inventory since October 2016. But estimates of the number of existing homes on the market in April were revised downward from 1.84 million to 1.83 million, meaning that any “increase” in inventory in May was driven by downward revisions to the prior month.

The median seasonally-adjusted price of existing homes sold in May was $242,800, down 0.8 percent from April and the biggest month-over-month decline in a median seasonally adjusted sale price since October 2013. Compared to a year ago, the median seasonally adjusted sale price is still up 5.8 percent. The decline in median sale price was driven by lower median sales prices in the condo/coop category, and among single-family home sales in the South. The median seasonally adjusted price of single-family homes sold in the South in May fell 2.8 percent from April, but was up in every other major region, including a 0.8 percent increase in the West.

Related:

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• Return on Rent: In Most Major Markets, Most Homes Can Be Rented Out For A Profit
• Homes for Sale in More Than Half of Large Metros Less Affordable Than They Used to Be